My father and grandfather both passed away due to heart attacks. I recognize the likelihood of a genetic predisposition to heart disease. I trust that my diet choices and heart healthy understanding have improved from previous generations but I do not trust in these things; I trust in the Lord, aware of the fact that none of us have any longevity guarantees. What I do know is that I celebrate every heartbeat. I celebrate every moment. I celebrate every small victory and movement forward in my marriage, my children, my friendships, and my walk with the Lord.
Our daughter, Bethany, is an RN at a local hospital. She also volunteers at a pregnancy center performing ultrasound evaluations for the newly pregnant clients who come to the center. She told me that the heartbeat of the baby is the first sign of life she sees by way of the ultrasound. In the earliest weeks of this child’s life, even before the rest of the body takes form, she can see the steady pulse of a heartbeat.
The significance of this picture to me is here. The heart, as described in Scripture, is the center of our intellectual, emotional, volitional, and spiritual life. Our heart is what ties us closest to God, our creator. Our creation in God’s image starts with our heart and that is why it is no surprise that it is first to appear in the womb. That is also why a baby in the womb is sacred; created in God’s image with a heart beating in rhythm with a life infused by God Himself.
In the heated political debate of abortion, I fall short of providing any quick answers to stopping it. I am not sure how to criminalize the act in our current confusion as a country over this issue. I do know I am uncomfortable with the “legal” label attached to the practice as it suggests that we as a society condone this atrocity. In the long run, maybe it comes down to providing tangible help to those in a crisis pregnancy while continuing to educate a public that has become blind to the fact that abortion stops a beating heart.
And blind is not too strong of a word to use. How else can we describe those who willfully ignore these commonly known facts from tenth grade biology class?
1) Human beings procreate human beings.
2) Abortion kills a human being.
3) Abortion must stop.
No matter your political or religious bent, it really is that simple. Celebrate the heartbeat.